


Out of Mind

by ShipOnTheHorizon



Series: Kaffee und Liebe [2]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Blind Character, Charles Xavier Needs a Hug, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Erik Has Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hiding, Lawyer Erik Lehnsherr, Love at First Sight, M/M, Mutant Powers, Mutants, Nerd Charles Xavier, No Angst, Protests, Smitten Erik, Teacher Charles Xavier, second meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:09:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23806663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShipOnTheHorizon/pseuds/ShipOnTheHorizon
Summary: After Erik and Charles had officially met – orclashedin a more literal sense – Erik had barely had a chance to breath between work and protests andfreaking the fuck out.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Raven | Mystique & Charles Xavier
Series: Kaffee und Liebe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1526066
Comments: 13
Kudos: 84





	Out of Mind

After Erik and Charles had officially met – or _clashed_ in a more literal sense – Erik had barely had a chance to breath between work and protests and _freaking the fuck out_.

He was blind.

His totally-not-a-crush-fuck-off-Emma was blind, and he hit him with a door and then _yelled at him for it_.

As he said, freaking the fuck out.

It had been more than a week since the aforementioned incident and for the first time in that time, Erik actually had more than an hour to relax and actually leave his office building for reasons that weren’t to go home and sleep or to go outside to the hotdog stand immediately outside the doors.

While walking to the little café on 11th Avenue, the one he had tried to avoid thinking about but failing miserably, he began to think about what he was doing; what did he think was going to happen? Was Charles even going to be there? What if he did something so stupid, again, something that hurt Charles _more_ than hitting him in the face did?

By the time he had gotten to the café, he had almost talked himself into turning around approximately 6 times before concluding that the combined desire to see Charles and have some _good coffee_ (not from the same hotdog stand) was too big to ignore.

He pushed open the door (making sure no one was in front of it) and ordering his drink. It’s only when he had picked up his order and turned towards him typical table that he realised there was someone already sitting at it.

A very familiar someone.

He didn’t even try to stop himself from walking over and taking a seat.

“Hi.”

Charles appeared to not hear him the first time, his earphones in and – as far as Erik could understand – reading him a book from where they were plugged into his phone that was neatly placed onto the table.  
Although he didn’t know much about telepathy as a mutation, he knew that they could sense minds, no matter the strength, so he wondered why Charles hadn’t even moved as he sat down, especially with the apparent strength he had.

( _“He could probably figure out a person’s intentions before they even stepped within 10 miles of where he was.”_ )

Erik, not one to stop when he had already started, said it again, a bit louder along with lightly tapping the other man on the shoulder with his spoon. It seemed to work as Charles quickly took his earphones out, pausing whatever book he was listening to.

“Um, sorry. Is everything okay?”

Erik nodded, before remembering he couldn’t see. “Hi Charles, it’s, um, it’s Erik?”

Charles frowned in apparent confusion, “Erik?”

Erik himself frowned, feeling one half betrayed, because his cr- Charles didn’t remember him, and another half confused. Surely people don’t just forget the people that hit them in the face with a physical object?

Unless.

Well, fuck.

He wonders if his confusion is clearly on his mind as Charles seems to become more curious than confused. 

“Shit. I’m- I’m the guy that opened a door on you the other day.”

Charles’ face seemed to brighten- “Oh! Is that your name? You rushed off before you could tell me. Sorry I didn’t recognise you.” 

Just as he thought. Erik grimaced, “Yeah, I am so sorry. I didn’t even realise that I didn’t introduce myself. I had a mee-.”

“-eeting, yeah I remember.” While the words could be taken in a judgemental or even aggressive manner, Charles seemed to smile at him, teasing.

Erik responded by laughing lightly and taking a minute to examine Charles up close. While he had watched him multiple times at the café (apparently unnecessarily trying to be subtle), it had always been from afar and he had never had the chance to truly examine anything other than his body – which wasn’t disappointing in of itself.

He has his sunglasses on, covering up which he can vaguely remember from the incident to be some beautiful eyes – if not slightly white, presumably from his lack of sight – and although he was upset that he couldn’t see them again, he was hopeful to get the chance to see them in the future.

Very hopeful.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for a living that means you have to run down the street to get to meetings?” For a small moment, he is confused on how Charles knows he ran but then he remembers that Charles’ sister was with him when they had first interacted.

“I work at a law firm, and they mostly focus on working with families and dom- domestic violence cases,” he tripped over ‘domestic violence’ as it typically invited people to ask about what made him go into that type of law and that wasn’t a second-meeting topic, but as Charles made no effort to question him, despite the slightly cock of his head after the stutter, he continued, “and on that day one of our biggest cases was due to be finalised.”

Charles nodded, seemingly interested; “And was it good news?”

Erik smiled brightly, no matter whether Charles could see him or not. It was one of the few big success stories that the law firm could have, as battles with domestic violence cases were still hard to fight. 

“Yeah, yeah, it went really well.”

Charles smiles in a way that suggests he knows the significance of a case like this winning to Erik, which makes him ask:

“What do you do for work?”

He chuckles lightly, “Nothing as important as what you do, I’m afraid, Erik, but I teach at the nearby university.”

“Oh? What do you teach?” Erik asks, ignoring the fluttering feeling he feels as Charles saying his name.

“Biology. Mutations, to be specific.”

“Is your own mutation why you went into that field?” Erik asked, curious. He knew a lot about mutations, mostly on the basis of going to protests, but less about the actual biology of them – his focus was more on what they weren’t allowed more than a reason for them.

“Not especially. Although telepathy is interesting, it’s actually quite a common mutation and a lot of facts about it is very well known. My sister, Raven, the girl I was with when you hit me with a door-“ Erik blushed, and Charles smiled, but didn’t stop, “-has a physical mutation and those are much more interesting as it actually effects more to with both phenotypes and genotypes, but the fact that she can actually _change_ all of her DNA as she shifts is especially inter-“

He pauses, and blushes. “I’m sorry, I realise this isn’t interesting to everyone apart from myself and my students.” 

Erik waves his hand, and a feeling of fondness overcomes him. He both hopes that Charles can and cannot feel it.

“No, no! I think it’s fascinating – I’m a mutant myself and have never really thought about the actual biolo-“

Charles interrupts excited, “You’re a mutant?”

Surprised, he looks over at the spoon constantly mixing his tea before realising that, once again, Charles can’t _see_.

“Yes, I can control metal.”

Charles seems to pause and Erik internally sighs; most people react the same when they figure out that Erik can control metal, that he has the power to rip cars of the road and crush them, that if he tried hard enough he could feel the iron in their blood and stop if from flowing, that if he found something wrong with the planet they were on he could stop the world from turning.

“I don’t think you would do that Erik.”

Erik looks up from hands, grasping the edge of the table to Charles’ kind face. He realises that he must have been pushing his thoughts on him and tries to pull back and close of his mind. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. But honestly, my friend, I don’t think you are capable of hurting people.”

“You weren’t prying, I was practically mentally yelling at you, but the reaction of others learning that I am able to control metal is not always a positive one.” He moves his hand to grasp Charles, “But thank you, despite you not really knowing me.”

Charles laughs, relieved that no one was mad. “I know you a little bit, but that’s enough. Also, I understand that. Despite the understanding of telepaths, it’s not always easy to know the specific thoughts that people have the second they know I can hear them.”

Erik, having a friend that _is_ a telepath, can only imagine. Emma only tells him a few situations in which people have reacted excessively to her being a telepath and those situations are the ones he thinks of when Charles speaks about it. Emma definitely doesn’t have a fraction of the power Charles seems to have so he can imagine how much worse it is.

“Anyway,” Charles interrupts his thoughts, “let’s move on.”

Erik squeezes the hand he forgot he was holding before bring it back to his lap; “So, am I allowed to ask why you didn’t immediately sense someone had sat in front of you?”

Charles flushes, laughing lightly, before picking up his phone off the table in the middle of the two and turning it around to face Erik; the book on the screen was one Erik knew well, as he had used the information inside the pages to push his cases, especially those with mutation focused conflicts, more often than not. 

“It’s one of my favourites, and I’m afraid you came upon me at the time of my favourite line.”

Erik leans forward, “And what line is that?”

If Charles is surprised at Erik’s interest, he doesn’t show it; “After talking about general human rights, the author says something about how ‘ _inclusion is a right, not a privilege-“_

 _“-for the few._ ” They both finish the quote. It’s one that Erik has said to many people on a variety of cases, both in court and on the streets with a cardboard sign raised above his head. Charles claps excited, realising that Erik knows of the book himself.

“Exactly! Anyway, that book tends to, uh, distract me from the world around me,” he waves his hand around indicating their current environment, “which is why I don’t often read it in public, but I needed it today.” He says the last few words quietly.

Erik notices the downturn of his lip and ultimately decides not to ask; while he would like to become closer to Charles, it definitely not his place to ask about why he needs to be distracted from the world he is in.

He is about to ask a question about another chapter in the book before the door of the café opens violently, almost slamming against the wall. Charles seems to physically react, not from the sound of the door, but from a knowledge of who it is that has entered the café as suggested by the familiar blue and red blur that flies at the table the moment she spots Charles.

“Charles! Where the hell have you been.” His sister seems to be torn between anger and concern for the man sat in front of him, a man that has curled in on himself.

Charles sighs, reaching around the table for his belongings. “I’ve been here, Raven, since this morning.” 

She seems to stutter through an answer before noticing Erik on the other side of the table, and while she tries to put on a mask of smugness, he can still clearly see the concern she felt.

“Hank is outside, and he said you didn’t turn up to the meeting.”

“For good reason, Raven. I didn’t want to be there.”

“But Charles-“

Charles stands up from the table, “I said _no_ Raven! I don’t want to be-“ he seems to remembers that Erik is there and seems to not say anything else, but indicated by Raven’s reaction, he may have just carried on by speaking directly into her mind.

She sighs, seeming to deflate, as does Charles. The area surrounding the two seems to go silent, with both taking a moment to calm down.

“Come here.”

Charles barely finishes before Raven throws herself at him, enclosing him in a hug so familiar that you could never look at them without immediately knowing they were family.

They separate and Charles picks up his bag from the chair he had stood up from before turning towards Erik. 

“I’m so sorry to cut this short Erik but I have a class at 2 o’clock and it is,” he pauses and Raven finishes the sentence, “It’s about 1 o’clock and you have to tell Hank any jobs you need for him.”

“Yes, exactly – however.” 

Erik looks at him, hopeful. “However?”

The flush that Erik has become familiar with returns, alongside a quick nibble at his own bottom lip. It makes them look even more red than they naturally were (which is quite red).

“-do you think?”

Erik looks away from his lips, “Sorry?”

Raven fails to hide her smile behind Charles, whereas he just rolls his eyes. “I would like your number so we can do this again, what do you th-?”

“Yes.” Erik says the affirmation so loudly that multiple people in the café turn towards the three but Erik doesn’t care – he wants his _number_. _Erik’s_ number.

He gives it to him, and the two turn around to leave the café but before they leave, Charles tells him he will call as soon as possible.

Erik waits until they get outside – and meet with another man, tall, definitely looks like a student – and are out of sight, down the street before he fists pumps the air.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the next chapter in the Kaffee und Liebe universe! I wonder what Raven and Charles were talking about? ;)
> 
> (Feel free to give me prompts for this universe, it might force me to right faster than every 6 months... sorry!)


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